The New Moon of Ramadan and 'Id, and News by Radio

Question

Concerning keeping the fasts of blessed Ramadan and sighting the moon on the 29th of Sha'ban: throughout the city and its surroundings no one saw the moon, nor was it seen in the township; but in the villages and in many other townships people began the fast merely by the reckoning of the printed almanac, without sighting the moon. Is this fast a fast of Ramadan or not?

Answer

If on the 29th of Sha'ban the horizon is not clear, it is sufficient even for one Muslim to see the moon and state it, provided that he is not openly sinful (zahir al-fisq). This year here too the moon was not seen on the 29th of Sha'ban, Thursday; but later news of the moon's appearance came from several places, and reliable witnesses who saw it themselves testified to having…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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